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Apple's proprietary FaceTime application allowed to eavesdrop and spy on the interlocutor (Topic)

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Apple's proprietary FaceTime application allowed to eavesdrop and spy on the interlocutor

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An interesting "spyware" vulnerability was discovered in Apple's proprietary FaceTime calling application, which is received by default on all mobile and desktop devices of the company. As a result of a software bug, the initiator of a conversation can call his interlocutor and hear the sound from his device before he answers the call.

Such interference may not be considered serious "espionage" without the knowledge of the interlocutor, because the signal warns him about the start of a conversation and therefore does not make the interference hidden. The error appears during a group call session, and in some cases the caller, again without waiting for the interlocutor's answer, gets the opportunity to spy on the subscriber through the front camera of his iPhone. Presumably, this flaw applies to all devices iOS 12.1 and later.

FaceTime, an application for making video and audio sessions, was specially created for branded Apple technology. For the first time, a solution with video support was presented in 2010. Three years later, audio calls were added to the service. Last year, FaceTime began supporting group calls with the ability to communicate with 32 subscribers at once. To do this, the developers have reworked the technical structure of the service to ensure the simultaneous interaction of all interlocutors, and also changed the program interface, which became dynamic and reacted to the subscriber who speaks at a particular moment.

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Not so long ago, users began to notice that Group FaceTime calls have an implementation bug. As a result, the caller can eavesdrop and sometimes watch his interlocutor. The bug looked like this. Some of the users made a video call. Even before the interlocutor answered, the initiator of the call could add other people to the session. If the caller adds their phone as an additional participant to the call, the application starts transmitting audio from the receiving user's device, even if the caller has not yet answered the call.

Another Apple FaceTime error occurred when the person answering a call pressed the smartphone's power button and the volume button to, for example, reject a call. Instead, the application started, along with audio, a video broadcast to the caller's device, while on his device the caller's status indicated that his interlocutor had already joined the group video call.

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Apple has agreed to the FaceTime bug and plans to fix it with a special patch in the near future. At the moment, the company has temporarily blocked the possibility of making group calls.

The Topic of Article: Apple's proprietary FaceTime application allowed to eavesdrop and spy on the interlocutor.
Author: Jake Pinkman


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